According to Callow (2005:xliii) Mala Powers cited in 'Michael Chekhov's Chart for Inspired Acting',(1991: xxxvi) 'The Psychological Gesture is a means of expressing the entire character in condensed physical form through an intuitive grasp of the character's main desire.' (Chamberlain, F. 2001:72) 'This is a movement that embodies the psychological and objectives of a character.' (Chekhov, M. 2005:64) Some of the main aspects that are the focus of Pyschological Gesture are:

By using the actor’s entire body, the actor can create a basic structure of the character and at the same time can get into the different moods required by the script.

The purpose of the overall gesture that the actor uses is to create a character with an objective.

The same gesture can generate different wants in different people.

The psychological gesture has to have a very clear and definite form.

There are also 'Archetypal' gestures which are different to psychological gestures.

Through each aspect of the psychological gesture you should then be able to 'penetrate' and 'stimulate' the depths of your own psychology: through your 'center'. 'The great mission of the actor as well as the director and the playwright is to save the 'soul' of the theatre and with it the future of our profession'

Chekhov cited in (Callow 2005:54) Split Consciousness Atmosphere and Content The Bond Between Actor and Audience Atmosphere Inspires the Actor Soul is created in a character Two contrasting atmospheres cannot co-exist. In contrast to Stanislavski According to Chekhov 'In the realm of art, in the theatre, there is no excuse for banishing atmospheres...' Chekhov cited in (Callow 2005:54) Atmosphere is a key form of expression Creating atmosphere is a necessary component of performance. Visualise an Imaginary Body

The Imaginary Body belongs to his or her character.

The actor can learn to inhabit the character through their imaginary body. According to Mala Powers, (1991:xxxiv)Through practice the actor can appear to change the shape of his body and 'physically transform himself into the character'

The actor can experiment with the center in different areas of the body such as the eye or the stomach, in order to find the center for their character. Every character has a center.

The center is an imaginary area inside or outside the body.

The center creates the movement, it is where gestures and impulses for movement come from.

Finding a character's center can lead to understanding his or her entire personality and physical makeup. STEP ONE STEP TWO CENTER The more the actor is able to stimulate the mind and train their imagination of this idea of fantasy life the more able the actor will be to communicate depth and meaning to their character in performance. Despite Stanislavski's favouritism towards Chekhov, there appeared to be differences in their opinions, in particular an 'over-heated imagination' (Marowitz, 2004:39) 'Chekhov believed that truly creative feelings were more effectively conjured up by the actor's imagination, cleansed of all personal associations.' (Marowitz, C. 2004:58) Sam walked along the hot dusty road... 'By imagining fairy-tale or dreamlike transformations (a frog into a prince) and paying close attention to the stages of this transformation we will develop both concentraion and a facility for working with images.' (Chamberlain,F. 2004:46) 'Nearly all acting is the result of the performer's ability to Imagine and reproduce the reality of the play's fiction on stage or screen.' (Powers, M. 1991: xli) BibliographyStyan, J. L. (2006). Modern Drama in Theory and Practice Two. Cambridge: Cup.

Braun, E. (1979) The Theatre of Meyerhold: Revolution on the Modern Stage. Norwich: Fletcher & Sons Ltd.Simonson, L. (1968) The Theory of the Modern Stage. London: Penguin group.Werses.S., S. (1986) An-shi's "Between Two Words" (The Dybbuk): A Textual History. Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem.